Welcome to the Doctor Burg, Healthy Keto and Intermittent Fasting Podcast.

Now, your host, the man taking your health to a whole new level.

Doctor Eric Burg.

I want to answer the question, why does weight loss sometimes increase the risk of gallstones?

Take a look at this.

Your fat cell is composed of triglycerides and cholesterol.

A lot of people don't realize this, especially the amount.

If you're of a normal weight, and you're not overweight too much,

25% of that fat cell is made from cholesterol.

But if you are obese, 50% of that fat cell is going to be composed of cholesterol.

So when you start losing weight, this cholesterol is going to come out.

This is why a lot of times on the ketogenic diet, the cholesterol is higher initially,

because it's being dumped by the gallbladder.

But we have to realize, there's a control mechanism of this cholesterol, especially to get rid of the excess.

And that has to do with bile.

Okay, bile salts help control the excess of cholesterol.

And it's the lack of bile that can cause a gallstone, because you have this super concentrated cholesterol without enough bile.

And then you get a gallstone.

So gallstones are caused by a bile deficiency.

Now, if you add high insulin to this picture right here, as well as a low fat diet,

so let's say someone is obese, you know they're going to have high insulin.

And you know, in the past, they probably have been in a lot of low fat diets, right?

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